A/N: I know, I usually give you some warning when I'm ending a story, but I didn't this time. This is the last chapter of this one. I'm glad you guys have stuck with me on this one, and I thank you all so much for your reviews. As always, see the first chapter for the disclaimer. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and thanks again. :)

Epilogue

May 31, 1993

Tony pulled the boiling pot of water and spaghetti off of the stove while Keri sliced up vegetables for the salad. Heather played behind them in the dining room, running in between the chairs. As Tony went to pour out the water, he spilled some on his hand.

"Fuck," he swore, catching Keri's attention. She walked over to look at it.

"You'll be fine," she told him. "Just run it under some cold water."

He nodded as he finished pouring out the water and rinsing the pasta under hot water. Once finished, he ran his hand under the cold water while the pasta drained again.

Heather dropped one of her toys, losing it under the table. "Fuck," she said, repeating after her father.

Tony scoffed and laughed slightly while Keri's mouth dropped open. "What did you just say, young lady?" she admonished her daughter.

"Fuck," Heather said again.

"That's a bad word. Don't ever say that word again."

"Daddy said it."

Tony bit his lip, trying not to laugh.

"Don't repeat everything Daddy says," Keri told her, cutting a glance over at Tony and knowing he was cracking up on the inside.

"Daddy says a lot of bad words," Tony added, fighting back amusement.

"Daddy, what's funny?" Heather asked.

"Nothing's funny. Daddy's hand just hurts."

Heather looked really confused.

"Don't repeat everything Daddy says," Tony said, turning his back to his daughter so she couldn't see the smirk on his face.

Heather climbed down to get her toy while Keri turned to Tony. "Sometimes, you are no help," she said to him quietly.

"I'm sorry, honey," he told his wife. "But it's just too funny to hear our two year old swear."

She shook her head with a slight smile, more at Tony's amusement than their daughter's behavior.

February 6, 2010

The intercom buzzed, and he quickly allowed the person to come in before turning back to his cooking. A few moments later, there was a knock on the door, and he made his way over to the door. He opened it wide for Hannah to come in with her arms full of binders.

"Thanks," she said.

"No problem," he replied. "Come on in, make yourself comfortable."

Hannah walked over toward the couch, placing the binders down on the table in front of them before looking up to his entertainment wall. "Holy crap. You weren't kidding when you said you were a movie buff, huh?"

Tony shrugged. "I got a few."

"A few would imply, like, one cabinet. This is a huge ass collection."

Tony smiled slightly. "Okay, more than a few."

Hannah shook her head. "You're cooking lunch?"

"You said you were hungry," he replied, heading toward the kitchen.

"I thought we'd just get some takeout or something," she said, following him.

"I like cooking sometimes. It's nice to have a reason to make some real lasagna and stuffed peppers."

She smiled. "You're ruining my diet," she teased lightly.

He scoffed. "You're paper thin," he said. "You don't need a diet."

"Did you make garlic bread too?"

"You sound so surprised that I can cook."

"Well, because Ziva hinted that you can't."

"That's because her cooking's better than mine. So, whenever she comes over, I ask her to cook for me."

"So, how do I know that this isn't Ziva's cooking that you're just re-heating?" she asked.

"Because I made a mess in the sink," he replied. "And, I burned my hand."

Hannah smirked. "Did you drop the f-bomb?"

Tony furrowed his brow slightly. "You remember that?"

"Vaguely. I think you were cooking or something."

"Spaghetti. Burned my hand on water."

She nodded. "I just remember getting in trouble for repeating you."

He smiled. "Yeah, your mother wasn't too thrilled with that one. Me, I was too busy laughing."

She smiled. "Of course you were."

He chuckled. "Yeah, that was one of my biggest problems: keeping a straight face when you did something you weren't supposed to do."

"Did Mom know before you had me?"

Tony shook his head. "Nah, for some reason, she thought I would get more serious," he said.

Hannah smirked.

He pulled the food out of the oven, and the two of them helped themselves before taking up residence on his couch. She picked at the lasagna for a second before saying, "Movie or talking?"

He shrugged. "Whatever works for you," he replied, taking a big bite of lasagna.

She took a bite of pepper. "How'd you and Mom meet?"

He smiled. "She was my roommate's girlfriend's sister. Him and Keri orchestrated this surprise birthday party for her, under the guise that he and I were taking Mari out for dinner. Actually, Keri had been there with her boyfriend at the time."

Hannah snickered. "So you stole Mom away then, huh?"

Tony nodded, taking another bite. "Yeah. She only minded when she got pregnant shortly after we started dating, but I knew she was the one. I managed to convince her I had no intention of leaving, and she stayed with me too. I'd like to think it worked out okay, but considering how Keri ended up, I'm not so sure."

She frowned. "It wasn't your fault though, was it?"

He tilted his head back and forth. "Close enough."

"What do you mean?"

He shook his head. "I'll tell you that one when you're older."

She rolled her eyes, causing him to smirk. "Fine," she said. "I'll let that go for now."

"Thank you."

She took another bite off her plate. "So, did Ryan ever know you?"

Tony shook his head again. "I didn't even know he'd survived until they were calling me to tell me he was dead," he explained sadly.

Hannah nodded. "So, I'm your only living child."

"Pretty much."

"You never wanted more kids?"

He shrugged. "Somewhere along the line, I figured it'd happen again for me. Or that I was happy enough just doing my job and trying to prevent tragedies from striking other families. I guess I just never found anyone I cared about half as much as your mother."

"Except the other doctor," she interjected.

He snorted. "Yeah, that didn't work out so well."

"What'd you mean when you said, 'assignment'?"

"I was undercover. Coming across her and dating her just ended up happening."

"What happened?"

He sighed. "She found out I was undercover. It didn't go over so well."

"How so?"

"She later accused me of murder."

Hannah arched her eyebrows. "Yeah, I'd say that didn't go over so well," she commented lightly.

Tony shrugged one shoulder. "Wasn't the first time," he replied.

"That a girlfriend accused you of murder?"

"No, just that I was accused of murder. I think I'm up to three times right now."

She bit her lip. "I'm not entirely sure that's something to be proud of."

He smiled. "Just means I'm doing my job well if I'm pissing people off."

She shook her head.

"Nice to know that's in your genes, huh?" he said jokingly.

"Oh, I'm thrilled at that," she retorted. "I mean, I already got shot once."

"Sorry about that, by the way."

She shook her head again. "It's not your fault. It's his."

He nodded slightly.

"I sure don't hold it against you. If I did, I wouldn't be here."

"True."

She took another bite of the lasagna. "So, you really never came close to getting married again?" she asked.

He shook his head. "For a while, all I wanted to do was crawl under a rock," he said. "Then I decided to start dating, but I couldn't fall for anyone. Commitment just never felt right."

She nodded. "So, let me ask you this. Did you ever tell your coworkers about us?"

"Yeah."

"Before you found me?"

He took a bite of the pepper.

"That's what I thought," she said.

"To be fair, my boss did the same thing," he replied. "Only, they found out about him sooner. And, well, Ziva already knew before the others."

"So, you and your boss are a lot alike."

He shrugged. "So some have said."

"Does he like movies too?"

Tony laughed. "I'm pretty sure he doesn't even know how to use a DVD player."

Hannah gave him a look. "You're kidding, right?"

He shook his head with a big smile.

"Oh, my goodness."

The two of them fell silent for a moment before curiosity got the best of her. "Did you ever think of giving up?" she asked.

"Giving what up?" he responded.

She looked at him again.

"I didn't ever give up on living, or looking for you. I've had some low points in my life, but I always had this feeling that you were out there somewhere. And if I could find you, then maybe it would make things a little better, even when things were tough."

"And, did it work?"

He shrugged again. "Up until the point you got shot. Then… well… that wasn't going to get better."

"I'll work hard to make that not happen again."

"Good."

The two of them smiled and continued chatting while eating lunch. The more he talked to her, the more he saw Keri's intelligence mixed with his easy-going charm. Her organization with his sense of humor. Her drive to succeed mixed with his love of entertainment.

We did good, he thought to himself.

And though he knew it wouldn't always be the easiest relationship, he hoped to continue it with her as long as she'd let him. He might not be the one walking her down the aisle anymore, but at least he knew she was still alive, and would be able to make that trip herself. And, he'd always have those firsts with her: first steps, first smile, first words. First birthday, first Christmas.

"You okay?" she asked, interrupting his thoughts.

"I'm fine," he replied.

"You getting all sentimental on me?"

He chuckled. "Something like that."

She tossed her hair lightly, hair that so closely resembled his while the rest of her features matched Keri's. The pleasant little three and a half year old, who was still fascinated with having a kitty and playing with her blocks, had grown into a very beautiful young woman. Though, one thing was for sure.

He wouldn't hesitate to kill the next person who tried to hurt her.

The End